Telepathic Love
by YumeNoAnata
Summary: Naru can read minds and is focused on trying to make it through university without going mad. One day he finds Mai who has unexpectedly pure thoughts and finds ways to meet with her without realising that he is falling for her. Naru x Mai. Twoshot
1. Chapter 1

**Telepathic Love:**

 **Chapter 1:**

Italics denote thoughts.

* * *

Naru irritably slotted a book back into place on the bookshelf in the top floor library of his university. The noise inside his head was making him deeply regret coming to the library at such a busy time. Unfortunately, he had desperately needed a book for a paper so a visit to the library had been unavoidable.

He could feel a major headache coming on and his concentration slipped momentarily at the first occurrence of pain meaning that a barrage of thoughts exploded in his head. There was a group of students converged around a bookshelf in the next aisle. Their thoughts were not happy.

 _I need alcohol to get through this._

 _Why did I ever come to this university?_

 _I've run out of money to get weed. Shit_

 _I hate group assignments. Fuck them._

 _I'm going out clubbing after this._

He winced and gritted his teeth as he slipped back in control. Those thoughts hadn't been the worst he had ever heard. It was just that occasionally the negativity was too much. Sometimes he didn't know how he had got through the past four years without going mad.

He had attended sixth form college in England and had made the decision to transfer to Japan for university in hope that it would improve his situation. Granted, he took a few seconds to translate the thoughts he was hearing into English and writing with Japanese characters took a lot of his concentration, but he hadn't experienced many changes that had changed his outlook on life or distracted him from reading minds.

His twin's death four years ago had sparked his ability to read thoughts. Before that incident, all he had been able to do was exchange thoughts with his brother. When his brother had died, he could hear everyone's else's instead. His adoptive father had hypothesised that Gene had been like a barrier for his ability and now that barricade was gone he had no choice about what he heard.

After a month of suffering he had gained some control over it. If he concentrated hard enough he could forget about his ability and drown out everything. The problem was that it only worked for short periods of time and he was slowly becoming very disdainful because he knew everyone's innermost feelings.

There were lots of girls at his sixth form who were infatuated with him purely because of his looks. Someone who he had thought of as a casual friend was only friendly with him because he knew always knew the answers.

He breathed in deeply to stop himself from remembering those moments. It was all in the past. He relaxed and felt his control slip firmly back with no audible thoughts. Perfect.

Then he felt someone tap his shoulder. He flinched and turned around to see a girl with caramel coloured hair and matching eyes standing behind him looking at him curiously. She looked to be about his age and she was holding a few library books.

"Are you all right?" She asked seemingly in concern.

 _Is he really okay? He was standing there for a while and he looked stressed. Maybe it's a last minute panic?_

Naru blinked in surprise. He had heard her thoughts without meaning to. He must have slipped up. The problem with the theory was that he couldn't hear anyone else's.

"I am fine, there's no need to worry," he assured her. "Am I in your way?"

He looked again at the books in her arms. He was probably preventing her from putting the books back. That was why she had showed concern for him.

She shook her head.

"I was passing by and I noticed you looked off."

 _He does look pale. Should I offer to walk him to a taxi?_

He found it strange that she didn't seem very self-centred yet. She hadn't thought about his looks or about how nice she was for showing concern. She would probably show her true colours in a few seconds.

"I am fine, it's just a little last minute panic for my paper," he answered with a tight smile.

 _I thought so. I'm glad it's just that. I'm not sure that was a real smile though._

That was a surprise. She had noticed his fake smile and her thoughts were still kind.

"Well if you're sure," she said and was about to walk away when she turned back. "What is your name by the way?"

"Kazuya Shibuya," he answered. It was technically his name as it was on his Japanese passport. Saying his name was Oliver Davis always produced confused looks and lots of mispronunciations so he went by his Japanese name.

 _That felt like a lie. Never mind, I'm sure he doesn't want to give his name to a stranger._

She had got him again.

"I'm Mai Taniyama," she replied cheerfully. "Maybe I will see you again soon."

With that she walked away and he stared after her doubtfully. He wasn't sure what had just happened. He had heard her thoughts without meaning to and they weren't too bad. She was a rarity. He was almost disappointed at the prospect of not seeing her again.

* * *

The next time he encountered her was not the best time. His parents had phoned him whilst he was perusing the books in a bookshop that catered for English readers. He was stressed out from trying to hear their voices in a busy place and trying to block out all of the thoughts that he could hear in the shop.

His mother then proceeded to be even more annoying and ask if he had a girlfriend yet.

"Mum, I do not want to have any friends let alone a girlfriend," he sighed and looked around to ascertain that the aisle was still empty. "Can we talk at a different time? I am in public."

"Noll, I just want you to live a normal life," she said.

"I do too. It's just not possible," he shot back in annoyance.

He heard her awkward deep breath and she reluctantly said good bye. Oliver replaced his phone in his pocket and noticed that the voices in his head were silent now.

Then he heard a distinctive one.

 _Isn't that Kazuya? He looks stressed again._

He looked over his shoulder to see Mai standing a metre away from him, looking worried. She kept seeing him at his worst.

"Hello, Taniyama-san," he greeted.

He took note of the books in her arms this time. The books were of course in English and were on the subject of paranormal research. This caught his attention.

"Hi Shibuya-san. I was going to ask why you were here, but I heard you speaking in English so I guess you can read all of the books here," she commented ruefully as she looked down at her books.

"How much did you hear?" he asked cautiously.

She had better not have heard that part about his mother wanting him to have a girlfriend.

"Nothing much, I just recognised that you were talking fluently in English. The only part I really heard was that the person called you Naru?"

That cat would have been out the bag if she had pronounced it right. Instead of Noll, she had pronounced it Naru. It was almost cute.

What the hell had he just thought?

"It's kind of a nickname," he explained. "What are you doing here?"

"It's for a paper," she answered. "I study paranormal research."

For a wild moment when Naru had been looking up courses to study in Japan, he had stumbled across the paranormal research course and had considered choosing it. What had stopped him was his telepathic ability. People studying paranormal research would probably notice sooner or later that he was different.

Instead he had chosen the safe route which was to study Chemistry. Everything made sense in Chemistry.

"Are you going to be able to understand them?" he asked. It was unfair to base her English translation abilities based off her pronunciation of his name.

"I have started the paper very early for that reason," she admitted.

 _I can't give up on it even if I can only read basic English. I have a dictionary…_

Naru gave her a searching look as he wondered what to do. He found himself wanting to help her and he was seriously wondering why. The only good thing about her was that she was keeping all the other thoughts out his head.

He made his decision.

"Taniyama-san, I can give you a list of the complex vocabulary and what it means if you like."

Her wide eyes stared up at him in wonderment and his heart skipped a beat.

"Would you really? That would be so helpful!" She exclaimed happily. "How can I repay you?"

 _What do boys like? Sports? He isn't the type. Maybe he likes tea because he is English… or is that too stereotypical?_

Naru swallowed a smile as he listened to her thoughts.

"You can take me somewhere for a cup of tea," he said. "I don't mind if it's green tea."

"I know just the place," she said cheerfully. "I'll come back here once I pay for those books."

With that she rushed off to the till and Naru wondered what he had got himself into. She returned a few minutes later and they left the book shop.

A cold gust of winter wind hit them as soon as they stepped out into the street and Mai shivered. Naru had read the weather forecast in advance and was wearing a thick woollen coat whereas Mai was wearing a thinner raincoat.

 _My hands are cold. I want to put them in my pocket, but I have to carry the books._

Before Naru could process what he was doing properly, he took out his leather gloves from his pocket and held them out to her.

"You can use my gloves."

Mai stared at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure you don't need them?"

"I don't," he assured her. "I can use my pockets."

That convinced her and she happily pulled the gloves on. Naru noticed how big they were on her and was amused by the difference between the sizes of their hands.

"Thank you, Shibuya-san," she smiled up at him.

* * *

According to Mai there was an affordable teahouse popular with students from the university nearby so they walked over there. The place looked like it was going for the rustic look with chipped wood and odd assortments of teacups everywhere and bare floorboards. On the positive side it was warm and it did serve his preferred red tea.

"I see why this place is popular with students," he said as they sat down with their orders. "It has the right kind of look."

"It does live music as well," Mai told him. "I can't say it's good music though. It is other students performing."

Naru picked up his teacup to take an exploratory sip. It was the best tea he had had yet in Japan and he added it as a place he could go if he really wanted good tea. It wasn't particularly busy, not that he was hearing any thoughts apart from Mai's at the moment.

Currently she was enjoying her lemon and honey tea a lot and her thoughts weren't verbalised well. He felt her remember that they were there for study and not for relaxation.

She produced all of the books from the carrier bag and put them on the table.

"Can you explain some of the vocabulary to me?" She asked. "What is ' **spiritual discernment** '?"

Naru obliged and they spent an hour going over the books together. The telepath found that he was kind of enjoying teaching her the meanings of unfamiliar English words. Mai was a good listener and told the truth when she didn't understand him the first time.

 _I don't thing I can make it up to him. He's saved me so much time._

"You can let me read your paper when it's done," he said. "I wouldn't mind seeing what I have helped you with."

"Of course I will," she answered. "Are you going back to your accommodation after this?"

"I am," he confirmed.

"I am going to my apartment on the way, I live with two other girls," she told him. "Sometimes I wish I didn't."

 _I hope Keiko did her washing up this time and Michiru hasn't left her laundry everywhere. They are so messy. It's only inconveniencing them in the long run._

Naru didn't envy her in that aspect. He honestly did not mind living alone. There was no one to argue with or find out the truth from their thoughts.

"I'm going right this way," she pointed. "Whereabouts do you live?"

"I live in the other direction, by myself."

He did feel like he was giving her more personal information than he had really given anyone and he was doing it voluntarily.

"You live by yourself? Sometimes I wish that I did, then I think of lonely I would be," her smile didn't reach her eyes this time.

 _I spent most of my life living alone since mum and dad died and I don't think I can do it again._

For a rare moment Naru felt guilty about listening into other people's thoughts. He wasn't sure how to feel about hearing something that private. He decided to try to make up for it.

"I'll walk you back," he said and strode off leaving Mai to run after him.

When Naru eventually reached his apartment, he realised that he had no idea why he had done all the things he had done in the past three hours. Mai had invited him into her shared apartment and offered him some tea. For a moment Naru had been about to say yes.

What was wrong with him?

He had felt like being sociable. Even in the past where his brother was alive, he hadn't liked socialising.

Maybe it was because when he was around Mai, he couldn't hear anyone else's thoughts. It was only natural that he would want to be close to her. As for the other part, maybe he had become less socially awkward now he was older and Gene wasn't talking for him.

It was a novel thought.

He wouldn't mind having more contact with Mai Taniyama.


	2. Chapter 2

**Telepathic Love:**

 **Chapter 2:**

Much to Naru's satisfaction he was able to see Mai the very next day. He had checked out the student canteen on an off chance that she would be there and fortunately for his headache she was.

 _It's Kazuya again. I've run into him quite a lot in the past two days._

He could detect that she was happy to see him and he felt appreciated. The only problem was that she was sitting next to male student that was blond haired and blue eyed. Naru concentrated on him to read his mind. His thoughts were in English.

 _He's giving me the evils. Did I do something? Does he like Taniyama-san?_

"Sorry if I am glaring," Naru said and sat down in the unoccupied chair at the table. "I just haven't met you before."

"I'm John Brown," the blond said. "I'm in a society with Taniyama-san. I am doing the theological research course here."

John had a very strange accent that sounded like a mixture of standard western accent and Kansai-ben. Naru took a look at his hair and made a guess where he was from. It helped that he had heard John speak English with a detectable accent in his head.

 _"_ Are you Australian?" He enquired. "I'm Kazuya Shibuya by the way."

 _How did he guess?_

"I am from Australia," John confirmed with a smile. "I learnt Japanese from someone in the Kansai region though so my speech is strange to some people."

"John is actually preparing to be a Catholic priest," Mai told him. "I was just asking him if he knew anything about exorcisms."

Naru understood the link there and it was interesting to find someone that wanted to be a priest. It was also a relief that John didn't have any interest in beyond friendship with Mai. He wanted to spend more time with Mai and a boyfriend would be an obstacle.

John took a glance at the clock on the wall and hastily stood up when he saw what the time was.

"I've got to go. It was nice meeting you Shibuya-san," he said and rushed off.

This left Naru alone with Mai. He guessed that she didn't have an impending lecture as she was relaxed and she was eying up the menu.

 _John didn't get to tell me about how he would do an exorcism…_

He felt her disappointment and he decided to make it up to her. He always did like demonstrating that he had more knowledge than other people.

"Catholic priests will use things like holy water, crucifixes and passages from the Bible," he explained. "Shouldn't you have known that?"

"We haven't got into the Catholic part yet in lectures," Mai answered as she noted down what he said in her notebook.

 _Kazuya is very knowledgeable about things that he isn't studying. It's an attractive trait._

Naru swallowed a smirk. It was always nice to hear compliments that weren't about his looks. Not that he completely minded ones about his looks. They just felt too shallow sometimes.

"I see. Do you have any more lectures today?" He asked.

"I have one in an hour, then nothing else for the rest of the day," she answered. "What about you?"

"I do as well," Naru lied.

He was smart enough to survive skipping a few lectures. It was missing lab practicals that would get him in trouble.

"Would you like to go somewhere after?" Mai asked what Naru had been hoping she would ask.

"I would. I don't have much to do at the moment," Naru said which was only partly true. He had upcoming deadlines, but they weren't impending.

 _I wasn't expecting him to agree so quickly. He must have enjoyed yesterday more than I thought._

"I had fun yesterday," Naru commented casually. "Do you know any other student places to go?"

Mai was silent and lots of suggestions flicked through her mind. Most of them were too fast for Naru to catch properly.

"How much do you like eating? I have to confess that I haven't eaten lunch yet," she explained. "There's somewhere new that I keep hearing about from everyone on my course."

 _I heard that the desserts are to die for. Kazuya doesn't look like the type of person to enjoy sweet things…_

Naru was struck again by how much she worried about other people than herself. He hadn't really heard anything selfish from her or anything negative that would change his perception of her. It was a refreshing change.

"I am happy to go anywhere you want to go. I don't mind sweet things either."

* * *

The place that she led him to turned out to be a new American diner style restaurant that had more of an emphasis on the desserts than anything else. He could tell that Mai was more transfixed by the dessert counter than by the burger menu without even hearing her thoughts.

 _Ooh there's lemon meringue pie. No, the death by chocolate looks better, no I should have the cheese cake. Wait, there's a chocolate sundae._

Did those thoughts count as being selfish? Naru didn't consider them to be. It was easy to get caught up in her excitement for sweet things and he was finding her inner struggle to choose amusing until she asked him for help.

"Shibuya-san, what should I have?" She questioned. "I can't choose…"

He elected to take the easy way out. "Just close your eyes and point."

Mai followed his instructions and ended up with a slice of lemon meringue pie with the meringue layer being double the thickness of the filling and pastry while Naru ordered fish and chips.

"Are you going to be able to finish it?" he asked doubtfully. For Japan it was a very large portion.

"Of course," she chirped.

Five minutes later he caught hold of a dissenting thought.

 _I feel sick._

He looked at her in concern and noticed that her pace had seriously slowed down. Her face was a normal colour so he judged that it was just a combination of an oversized and oversweet portion.

"You can stop if you feel sick," he suggested, having absolutely no idea what else he could say.

The brunette groaned and placed her fork down on the plate.

"At least it was cheap," she sighed.

 _I don't think I can eat anything for dinner. I was planning on finishing off the leftovers before they went off. I guess I can freeze it._

"You should feel better after an indigestion tablet," Naru told her. "Try not to skip dinner either, you will regret it later on."

 _Hmm._

Naru blinked. What did that thought mean? Did she feel too sick to verbalise her thoughts properly? He kept a close ear on her thoughts in case there was something wrong.

After they split the bill, Mai rushed to the toilet and when she came back her thoughts were normal for her. That entailed worrying about her paper and about other people.

That was until they reached her apartment block. Her thoughts took a turn for the strange then.

 _I wonder if Kazuya will kiss me?_

Naru flinched. Where had that come from?

 _Shall I invite him in? Keiko and Michiru won't be in. There won't be any interruptions then._

That made Naru take a hasty step back from her and his face heated up. He felt uncomfortably hot.

"I had fun today, Taniyama-san. I'll see you another time," he said quickly.

She looked at him with a strange look in her eyes.

 _Shibuya-san, can you hear me?_

He was in trouble now. He took another step back.

 _If you don't answer me, I'll start thinking of things that will make you squirm... I wonder what it's like to kiss you…_

Naru held up his hand. She had got him there.

"Okay, I can read your mind," he admitted reluctantly.

Mai smirked at him. "I thought so. Shall we discuss it in private?"

There were a few people in the street giving them curious looks so he acquiesced. As Naru was already aware, Mai's apartment was not the tidiest. There were dirty dishes scattered all over the kitchen. The brunette took one look at them and stacked them all up in the sink.

"When did you work it out?" he asked.

He needed to know what had given him away. Mai was the only person in Japan that he had interacted with properly. If everyone was going to be able to work it out, he didn't want to make friends.

"At the restaurant. I went to the toilets so I could be away from you and had time to sort it out in my mind," she explained.

That explained her strange and out of place thoughts.

"What gave me away?"

Mai smiled at him. "I thought it was obvious. You kept responding to things I hadn't said. I realised they were things I were thinking."

All of his conversations with her flashed through his mind and he knew that she was right. When he had first met her, he had been careful. The second time he had thrown caution out the window and he'd been even worse the third and fourth time.

"I started to get a suspicion when you lent me your gloves. I wasn't visibly cold, I had just thought about it."

He should have thought more about that.

"When did I start really slipping up?"

"I really started to notice when we were talking in the canteen. You kept saying things I had only thought about like about eating sweet things. You also responded strangely to John- you apologised for doing something he hadn't mentioned aloud."

Naru grimaced. This was why he hadn't wanted to make any friends or even talk to people. He felt Mai looking him sympathetically.

"Shibuya-san, I only noticed because I'm observant and I study the paranormal. An average person wouldn't notice anything strange about you," she reassured him. "Can you hear everyone's thoughts?"

"I can, but when I'm with you I can only hear yours."

He still didn't know why she was the exception to the rule. Maybe her mind acted like Gene's had. However that would mean that he would be able to exchange thoughts with her. There was no harm in testing it.

He stared into her brown eyes and broadcasted something to her.

 _Mai._

The reaction was immediate. Mai flinched and her eyes widened.

"What?"

It had worked. He had even heard his thought in her mind. She was similar to Gene. The question was if Mai would want to be around him now that she knew he could read her mind.

"If you like I can teach you how to block me from hearing your thoughts," he offered after a moment of awkward silence. "Our minds are too compatible. I can't usually broadcast my thoughts."

Mai screwed up her face in thought. "I don't think I really mind you reading my thoughts. I don't have anything to hide."

Her response hadn't been what he had been expecting. It showed her open and honest she was.

"Thank you, Mai," he said gratefully. "For not treating me like I'm abnormal and for wanting to stay around me."

 _It's because I like you._

Naru flushed a deep red. Mai looked at him with an innocent look in her eyes and then she winked at him. This made him feel even more out of his depth.

She was the first person he had met with such unselfish thoughts and he didn't feel uncomfortable around her either. In fact she was his favourite person in Japan.

"I don't mind you either," he answered.

She pouted at him.

 _That's all?_

"I do quite like you," he confessed. "More than everyone else."

 _Do I get a kiss now?_

"You are very confident about it," he teased and leaned across the table to press her lips to his.

It was his first time kissing anyone so he was completely new to the sensation. It felt a lot better than he had been expecting. He had considered kissing something that was unnecessary and annoying. Now he was finding it rather addictive.

 _I need to breathe._

Reluctantly Naru let her go.

"Are we a couple now?" she asked hopefully.

The two of them were starting to behave like people on those dreadful romance films that his mother favoured. He shuddered at the image in his head.

"That sounds so cliché," he groaned.

"There's nothing cliché about being able to read minds," Mai reminded him cheerfully.

Naru was forced to concede on that point. They weren't the most conventional boyfriend and girlfriend and he was perfectly content with that.

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N: I am glad that lots of people liked this scenario. Thank you. I felt it was a little out the ordinary compared to my usual fanfics.**

 **Regarding my next Ghost Hunt story I am still plotting it out so I can't say when I will start uploading it.**


End file.
